Italian IGP (IGT) wines

All Italian wines are assessed and classified based on the required legislation in both Italy and Europe. This wine classification system in Italy has four quality levels.

• DOCG wines
• DOC wines
• IGP (IGT) wines
• Other wines / table wine

The first three are used for bottle classification. The first two can be recognized by a kind of seal on the neck of the bottle (or in another place). The different name for IGP wines on the wine label is that IGP is mentioned before the name of the wine, in contrast to the DOC and DOCG quality mark. This is noted after the name of the wine.

What is the meaning of IGP (IGT)?

IGP stands for Indicazione Geografica Protetta. The wines have a protected geographical indication. They are also called IGT, which stands for Indicazione Geografica Tipica. This is the older name.

All IGP wines are produced in a specific area within Italy and they are produced according to a series of specific regulations. There are 118 Italian IGP wines.

Incidentally, a quality label of IGP/IGT does not always mean that the quality is less than DOCG or DOC. There are exceptions of winemakers who prefer to forgo the DOG and DOC rules. These winemakers prefer to make wines that are produced according to other techniques or in which certain grape varieties are used that are not included in the regulations to belong to a certain quality mark.

There are quite a few wines of exceptional quality, without having the DOCG or DOC label.

And what is quality? Ultimately, you always decide that yourself. Your taste is unique and only you can say whether you like a certain wine. With or without DOCG or DOC quality mark.

The website of Italian Wine Central lists all the specifications that the wine must meet, described per DOC. You will find all the Italian IGP wines on that great website.